technician repairing brakesWhen you hear a whistling or screeching sound coming from your vehicle brakes, it’s a sign that you’ve worn them down too far and could be putting your safety at risk on the road. All this wear and tear often can affect the calipers, pads and rotors too. So, what should you start to consider?

Wear Factors

Multiple factors place more wear on your brakes, including:

  • How hard you drive, which can push more weight on the brake pads. For a longer lifespan, smooth, gradual motions result in less wear.
  • City driving, involving more stop-and-go traffic. Also, those living in areas with steep elevations tend to use their brakes more often than those living in flat, rural regions.
  • Brake pads constructed with harder compounds – a feature more typical of performance cars – last longer, although they need to be warm to function well. On the other hand, softer compounds do better when you drive at lower speeds in urban areas.
  • Too much heat, which can melt the pads’ compound onto the rotors. In turn, this reduces their performance.
  • Certain materials last longer. Carbon-ceramic, more common in performance cars, has a greater lifespan than steel and other metals.

Mileage

Unfortunately, unlike other standard maintenance procedures, brakes do not have a schedule. Generally, it’s a good idea to consult your owner’s manual and to get them checked out whenever you get your oil changed or tires rotated, which usually occurs every six months.

A typical driver often finds that his or her brakes need to be replaced every 50,000 miles. But, depending on the various factors detailed above, this could end up being every 25,000 miles in a steep, urban area or every 70,000 miles if you drive smoothly through the countryside.

Signs Your Brakes Need Maintenance

With everything taken into account, certain factors indicate you should schedule maintenance soon:

  • Squealing, scraping or whistling: Brake pads have small metal hairs, which are built-in sensors that scrape against the brake disc on the bottom. When these wear down, you’ll hear a sharp noise from the caliper rubbing against the rotor. Should you ignore this sign, the damage often becomes worse. Your steering wheel starts vibrating or you may feel a pulsating, bumpy sensation whenever you brake.
  • Vibrations: A jittery feeling also indicates that your rotors have become warped. In this case, your technician needs to clean or grind down the surface until it’s flat or simply replace the part.
  • Grinding Sounds: Any grinding sound indicates that your brake pads have worn through.
  • Warning Lights: If the brake light seems to stay on for a few seconds longer than usual when you turn on your car, your brake system could be low on fluid, leaking or may have a problem with the master cylinder.

When you need a technician to diagnose and repair your brakes or if you need your fluids flushed and replaced, DaSilva’s Auto Body can perform these maintenance services at an affordable rate. To schedule an appointment, give our Naugatuck location a call today.